The Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) of Mount Wilhelm and Wanang,with description of a new species and a preliminary phylogeny of Stenochiinae

More than 40 species of Tenebrionidae were collected within the frame of the land workgroup of the Papua New Guinea 2012 expedition “Our Planet Reviewed” (Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle / Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and Pro-Natura International). Pending the identification of all collected material, a preliminary list is given below with the description of a new species, Uloma pascali n. sp., which is thought to be endemic to New Guinea. Some of sampled specimens (from subfamily Stenochiinae) were also used to conduct phylogenetic analyses on a multi marker molecular dataset. The objectives were the following: (i) provide a preliminary phylogenetic framework for the Stenochiinae, thanks to the inclusion of 46 representatives of the two most diverse stenochiine tribes (Cnodalonini and Stenochiini); and (ii) assess and discuss the placement of the sampled New Guinean Stenochiinae representatives. Our analyses support the monophyly of the tribe Stenochiini and the paraphyly of the tribe Cnodalonini. The latter is likely a by-product of the complex taxonomic history of the tribe, which has produced an artificial assemblage of distinctive lineages

Assemblages of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) along an elevational gradient in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea

Abstract Papua New Guinea (PNG) has the greatest diversity of dacine fruit fly species (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) in the world, many of which are significant agricultural pests. Although their taxonomy is relatively well known, there is limited research on their geographical and elevational distribution. We undertook a survey of PNG's fruit fly fauna along a complete elevational gradient on Mt Wilhelm (175–3700 m a.s.l.) to determine the elevational species distribution and turnover of fruit fly communities. Fruit flies were sampled using a selection of male parapheromone lures, including Zingerone, a new and promising male attractant. In total, we collected 10 700 fruit flies representing 77 species. The total abundance and species richness of fruit flies decreased with increasing elevation. Species richness was similarly high at 175 and 200 m a.s.l. (30 and 27 species) and at 700 and 1200 m a.s.l. (16 and 20 species, respectively) but dropped suddenly to only two species at 1700 m a.s.l. and to zero at all four sites above this elevation. There were no flies attracted exclusively to Zingerone. One species (Bactrocera recurrens) exhibited dramatic, temporal changes in abundance during the study period. Fruit fly assemblages were significantly influenced by both the lure type and elevation. Similarity of fruit fly communities decayed linearly with increasing elevational distance. We concluded that the upper limit of fruit fly distribution in PNG occurs between 1700 and 2200 m a.s.l. and the centre of diversity occurs between 0 and 700 m a.s.l

IBISCA: une étude à grande échelle de la biodiversité des arthropodes dans une forêt du Panama

info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

IBISCA-Panama, a large-scale study of arthropod beta-diversity and vertical stratification in a lowland rainforest: rationale, description of study sites and field methodology

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IBISCA-Panama, a large-scale study of arthropod beta-diversity and vertical stratification in a lowland rainforest : rationale, study sites and field protocols.

IBISCA-Panama (?Investigating the BIodiversity of Soil and Canopy Arthropods?, Panama module) represents a large-scale research initiative to quantify the spatial distribution of arthropod biodiversity in a Neotropical forest, using a combination of (1) international collaboration, (2) a set of common research questions, and (3) an integrated experimental design. Here, we present the rationale of the programme, describe the study sites, and outline field protocols. In the San Lorenzo Protected Area of Panama, twelve 20 x 20 m sites, all less than 2 km apart, were surveyed for plants and arthropods, from the ground to the upper canopy. Access to the canopy and its fauna was facilitated by fogging, single-rope techniques and a variety of devices such as a canopy crane, the ?SolVin-Bretzel? canopy raft, the canopy bubble and Ikos. IBISCA-Panama represented the first attempt to combine these complementary techniques of canopy access in a large-scale investigation. Such techniques provided spatial replication during initial field work performed in September-October 2003. Temporal replication across seasons consisted of subsequent field work of varying intensity during dry, early wet and late wet periods in 2004. Arthropods were surveyed using 14 different protocols targeting the soil, litter, understorey, mid-canopy and upper canopy habitats. These protocols included: WINKLER sifting; BERLESE-TULLGREN; hand-collecting of galls and social insects; fogging; beating; woodrearing; baits; and various types of traps such as pitfall, small and large flight-interception, sticky, light, and Malaise traps. Currently, analyses of arthropod distribution in this forest concentrate on a set of 63 focal taxa representing different phylogenies and lifehistories. IBISCA-Panama may be considered as a model for largescale research programmes targeting invertebrate biodiversity. Its collaborative modus operandi can be applied to answer a variety of pressing ecological questions related to forest biodiversity, as evidenced by the recent development of further IBISCA programmes in other parts of the world

Low beta diversity of herbivorous insects in tropical forests

Recent advances in understanding insect communities in tropical forests have contributed little to our knowledge of large-scale patterns of insect diversity, as incomplete taxonomic knowledge of many tropical species hinders the mapping of their distribution records. This impedes an understanding of global biodiversity patterns and explains why tropical insects are under-represented in conservation biology. Our study of approximately 500 species from three herbivorous guilds feeding on foliage (caterpillars, Lepidoptera), wood (ambrosia beetles, Coleoptera) and fruit (fruitflies, Diptera) found a low rate of change in species composition (beta diversity) across 75,000 square kilometres of contiguous lowland rainforest in Papua New Guinea, as most species were widely distributed. For caterpillars feeding on large plant genera, most species fed on multiple hosts of the same genera, so that even locally restricted plant species did not support endemic herbivores. Large plant genera represented a continuously distributed resource easily colonized by moths and butterflies over hundreds of kilometres. Low beta diversity was also documented in groups with differing host specificity (fruitflies and ambrosia beetles), suggesting that dispersal limitation does not have a substantial role in shaping the distribution of insect species in New Guinea lowland rainforests. Similar patterns of low beta diversity can be expected in other tropical lowland rainforests, as they are typically situated in the extensive low basins of major tropical rivers similar to the SepikRamu region of New Guinea